Countertrade: Forms,motives, pitfalls,and negotiation requisites

The impressive growth in countertrade necessitates a careful look at this trade financing mechanism and a new attitude by American policy makers and businessmen toward it. This study looks at the various forms of countertrade, at the motivating forces behind it, at the pitfalls that countertrade could engender, and at some imperatives in the negotiation of countertrade deals. The issues are examined from the perspective of a policy maker and that of a businessman. The two perspective are distinct but overlap sufficiently to merit a joint examination. It is the conclusion of this study that countertrade is here to stay, and that American businessmen better learn to cope with it if they are to maintain and improve their competitiveness in the world markets.     

Press release disclosures in Spain and the UK

Despite acknowledging the importance of different types of press releases in the accounting literature, researchers have conducted little systematic empirical research on this topic. To address this issue the present study examines the antecedents of a firm's decision to issue an Annual Results Press Releases (ARPRs) in a cross-national context, using Spain and the UK. The study investigates for the first time the relationship among ARPRs, earnings performance, the existence of an investor relations department (IRD), company size, and ownership concentration. Using a sample of 246 publicly traded Spanish and UK companies, this article shows that the two countries have significant differences in the disclosure of press releases. Moreover, size and the existence of an IRD were found to have a significant and direct effect on the disclosure of press releases. Finally, the results also indicate that ownership structure and company size play an important role as moderators to explain the effect on disclosure of press releases. Implications of these findings along with limitations and directions for further research are discussed.     

Gatt regulation of countertrade: Issues and prospects

In light of persistent hard currency shortages, an increasing number of countries and firms resort to countertrade. Although this practice has the potential to become a major threat to the world trade framework, it is currently not specifically addressed by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). From the context of the upcoming international trade negotiations, this article explores the extent to which countertrade practices are, and should be, incorporated into the GATT framework. It analyzes current GATT jurisdiction, presents policy considerations in favor of and against the inclusion of countertrade into the GATT, and addresses practical considerations to be kept in mind during negotiations on this issue.     

Corporate Reputation and Philanthropy: An Empirical Analysis

This paper analyzes the determinants of corporate reputation within a sample of large UK companies drawn from a diverse range of industries. We pay particular attention to the role that philanthropic expenditures and policies may play in shaping the perceptions of companies among their stakeholders. Our findings highlight that companies which make higher levels of philanthropic expenditures have better reputations and that this effect varies significantly across industries. Given that reputational indices tend to reflect the financial performance of organizations above other factors (Fryxell, G. E. and J. Wang: 1994, Journal of Management 20, 1–14) and that elements of the literature emphasise that discretionary aspects of social responsibility, including corporate donations, may not be in the financial interests of organizations (e.g. Friedman, M.: 1970, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits”, New York Times Magazine, September 13), this is a significant finding. It suggests that philanthropic expenditures may play a significant role in stakeholder management and may, in particular, lead to stakeholders holding more positive impressions of philanthropic corporations.     

Attaining Legitimacy in Temporary Business: The Case of New Entrepreneurs in the Television Industry

This work seeks to identify behavioral processes that new entrepreneurs can adopt to construct legitimacy in frequently changing temporary business environments. Focusing on independent television content production in the UK, the study finds that new entrepreneurs exploit the varying roles that their projects can play and then sequence these in order to tailor the legitimacy they need to build their business. This research draws on a 5‐year inductive study of 81 projects won by entrepreneurs of five new independent television production companies.     

“Do frogs jump as a result of privatisation?” Impact of privatisation on buyer–supplier relationships

As the cornerstone of the Conservative Government between 1979 and 1996, privatisation has undoubtedly had an enormous impact on the UK economy. On the whole, privatised companies have improved their performance in an ever increasing competitive environment by focusing on, among other things, a drive to reduce costs through bought-out goods and services. Research into Japanese companies, meanwhile, has highlighted the key role that supplier relationships play in their success. It has stressed the advantages of co-operative over adversarial relationships with suppliers, and evidence shows that an increasing number of Western companies are adopting this practice. This has raised the profile of purchasing in these companies with a change towards `better practice’ and improved management of the supplier base. From this new research a model of Feature and Construct Evaluation and Aggregation (FCEA) has been developed, in the search for a link to support the proposition that privatisation has an influence on purchasing strategies concerning supplier relationships. The research has shown that only a very limited link exists. Whilst Purchasing as an activity has increased in its importance and control, it has not become strategic. Purchasing strategies have not evolved or supported the business strategy as a result of privatisation, nor does privatisation encourage the development of purchasing strategies towards closer relationships with suppliers. This is compounded by the EC Directives that reflect an `open tender’ model of procurement, particularly evident in the emphasis on formal competitive tendering procedures and maintaining an `arms-length’ relationship with suppliers.     

A Managerial Approach to Predicting Countertrade Demands by Developing Countries

Despite econmic reforms in many developing (under the International Monetary Fund's Structural Adjustment Program), countertrade transactions continue to increase. The objective of this study was to validate a model which predicts developing countries' countertrading activities based on their economic characteristics. This model predicts that developing nations which impose countertrade are characterized by declining foreign exchange reserves, commodity terms of trade, balance of trade and increasing debt service ratios.     

AN ECONOMIC RATIONALE FOR COUNTERTRADE: Liquidity Constraints

Countertrade is a generic term for parallel business transactions linking sales contracts with agreements to purchase goods or services. Countertrade has been viewed as an inefficient way of doing business primarily because of problems associated with such things as quality variations and increases in transaction costs. A review of the international trade literature suggests that market imperfections (shortage of convertible currency, information asymmetry that may create the so-called lemon problem and moral hazard) may provide motivations for countertrade. This article focuses on one motivation: liquidity constraint. The liquidity constraint is introduced in both goods and the factor markets in addition to the production constraint. The article compares and contrasts two strategies facing the management team of a profit-maximizing firm. The model developed shows that countertrade strategy could be superior to standard money-mediated trade strategy when the liquidity constraint is binding. Therefore, countertrade appears to be a rational response to conditions that restrict standard trade. As such, countertrade can supplement standard money-mediated trade and contribute to the growth of international business.     

New firm survival: the interdependence between regional externalities and innovativeness

Small Business Economics - Many studies have shown that regional externalities play a crucial role for the survival prospects of newly founded companies. However, recent research provides evidence...     

Motives for and the management of countertrade in domestic markets

The emergence and persistence of modern countertrade (CT) is attributed to many factors including circumventing credit and foreign exchange problems, surmounting barriers to otherwise closed markets, hiding price cuts or simply exporters’ need to remain competitive. Because CT arrangements comprise bundles of buying, selling and financing contracts, explaining why firms conduct CT requires explanation of why a package deal is preferred to a set of component contracts. Examination of domestic CT stripped of “international ramifications” reveals the inherent rationale for CT as a desire to hide price discounts and to overcome cash shortages. Questionnaire data obtained from UK and Canadian firms broadly support this. If CT is worth undertaking, it requires effective management. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of CT for marketing strategy and planning.     

The issue of import motivation in manufacturer—overseas distributor relationships: Implications for exporters

Understanding the factors influencing the import decision making process plays an important role in export growth and development. However, little empirical work has been done in the pertinent marketing literature to examine the issue of import motivation. This paper reports on a systematic study of import stimulus variables in the UK exporting manufacturer‐Bahraini distributor relationship. It identifies a “multi‐attribute perceptual gap” in import motivation between exporting and importing companies, on the basis of which exporters appear to underestimate the significance of several variables in influencing the import decision of Bahraini distributors. The research findings have important implications for business practitioners in exporting firms and future research directions.     

Bridging the great divide? Making sense of the human rights-CSR relationship in UK multinational companies

Human rights (HR) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are both fields of knowledge and research that have been shaped by, and examine, the role of multi-national enterprises in society. Whilst scholars have highlighted the overlapping nature of CSR and HR, our understanding of this relationship within business practice remains vague and under-researched. To explore the interface between CSR and HR, this paper presents empirical data from a qualitative study involving 22 international businesses based in the UK. Through an analysis based on sensemaking, the paper examines how and where CSR and HR overlap, contrast and shape one another, and the role that companies’ international operations has on this relationship. The findings reveal a complex and multi-layered relationship between the two, and concludes that in contrast to management theory, companies have bridged the ‘great divide’ in varying degrees most notably in their implementation strategies.     

Effects of Power in Export Channels

While the literature identifies proper pricing as the primary determinant of the success of an international coutertrade transaction, no one research effort examines comprehensively the issue of pricing strategies in international counterade. The authors present a conceptual model and propositional inventory that examine the influence of marketing objectives on seller and buyer's pricing strategies in international countertrade.     

Sacrificing personal or professional life? A gender perspective on the accounts of retail managers

This article examines the issue of multiple role demands experienced, and the sacrifices managers make, in their career and personal lives. A series of 22 in-depth biographical interviews were conducted with retail managers of large companies in the UK. Respondents reported various instances of conflict between their work and personal lives. The findings revealed more of an asymmetrical permeability for both men and women managers, with work demands more likely to spillover to personal life. Combined together, these can represent very real problems in terms of the sacrifices managers need to make with regard to their work and /or personal lives. Women managers were found to undertake the majority of household duties and are therefore more likely to suffer from role overload. However, the findings also showed that both male and female managers are making sacrifices in one domain in order to accommodate the other. Significantly, women were more likely than men to have made sacrifices with regard to having children. It is acknowledged that the research cannot be generalised to the wider population of UK retail managers. However, the findings revealed some relevant issues that should be addressed by retail companies if they want to gain competitive advantage via the people they employ.     

The food superstore revolution: changing times,changing research agendas in the UK

This article considers the changing scope of research into UK food superstores over some three decades. Rather than catalogue changing market shares by format, we seek instead to show how such change links to national policy agendas. Academic research has evolved to address the growing complexities of the social, technological, economic and political impacts of the superstore format. We exemplify this by tracing the progression of retail change in Portsmouth, Hampshire, over 30 years. We discover that academic research can conflict with the preconceptions of some public policy makers. The position is exacerbated by a progressive decline in public information – and a commensurate rise in factual data held by commercial data companies – that leaves policy makers with a choice of which data to believe. This problem casts a shadow over the objectivity of macro-policy as currently formulated. Concerns currently arise because the UK Competition Commission (2006–2009 but ongoing) starts each inquiry afresh with a search for recent data. Furthermore, it has recently called for changes to retail planning – the very arena in which UK superstore research commenced.     

The role of domestic and cross-border venture capital investors in the growth of portfolio companies

This paper studies how the presence of cross-border as opposed to domestic venture capital investors is associated with the growth of portfolio companies. For this purpose, we use a longitudinal research design and track sales, total assets and payroll expenses in 761 European technology companies from the year of initial venture capital investment up to seven years thereafter. Findings demonstrate how companies initially backed by domestic venture capital investors exhibit higher growth in the short term compared to companies backed by cross-border investors. In the medium term, companies initially backed by cross-border venture capital investors exhibit higher growth compared to companies backed by domestic investors. Finally, companies that are initially funded by a syndicate comprising both domestic and cross-border venture capital investors exhibit the highest growth. Overall, this study provides a more fine-grained understanding of the role that domestic and cross-border venture capital investors can play as their portfolio companies grow and thereby require different resources or capabilities over time.     

The role of business support organisations in the process of retailer internationalisation

In the field of international retail research, there has been little attention paid to the role of business support organisations in the process of internationalisation. Given the barriers to foreign market expansion, the focus of this study is to investigate the importance of facilitating factors, in the form of business support organisations, which can assist retailers in the process of international expansion. A qualitative research methodology was employed and the findings provide evidence relating to three important areas: firstly, the types of business support programmes available to retailers seeking to internationalise from the UK, secondly, the barriers encountered by retail companies expanding overseas, and thirdly, how government and private organisations can assist in helping retailers overcome these hurdles.     

What is going on when nothing is going on? Exploring the role of the consumer in shaping waiting situations

Research on waiting in services focuses mainly on the role of companies in waiting situations. Much of the existing research envisages the consumer as a passive victim of the delays caused by companies. This article redresses the imbalance in research on waiting by exploring the role of consumers in waiting situations. A qualitative methodology is used, involving data collection through in‐depth interviews and personal diaries, to facilitate an in‐depth analysis of consumers’ waiting experiences. Additionally, a holistic approach is employed with a view to examining the ‘whole’ waiting experience rather than individual or isolated aspects of waiting. The main finding of the study is that consumers play an active and deliberate role in waiting situations. This is the first study to empirically identify the behaviours and initiatives undertaken by consumers when forced to wait for services. The results suggest that consumers play an active role in organising and reducing the real or perceived waiting time. They actively seek information on the length and causes of the wait. And, on occasions, the consumer may also be the cause of the wait or may even increase the delay by their actions. In contrast to most of the existing research on the topic of waiting, this study adopt a qualitative, in‐depth approach, with a multicultural sample, and a focus on the consumer whose role in waiting has previously been overlooked.     

A theoretical and empirical investigation into investment activities of technologically-intensive Chinese state-owned enterprises in the UK

This paper examines the determinants of direct investment in the UK by technology-intensive Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). It also investigates the ways in which investment strategies are being employed for entry to the UK and to achieve access to technology. Drawing on an inductive case study strategy it is found that Chinese SOEs are motivated by their ambitions to close the technology gap by tapping into UK knowledge networks. In terms of entry strategies, the findings indicate that the initial focus on existing technology subsequently shifts to the creation of added R&D capacity and new technology. This is achieved from a permanent UK R&D base which is integrated into the parent companies’ wider R&D networks. Technology creation is enabled by adoption of divergent management practices, especially at operational level, reflecting the parent companies’ surprisingly adaptable mindsets.